Personal profile

Metabyte Networks, Thomson Multimedia and hard disc maker Seagate have filed patents on a personal video recorder which learns what you like to watch (WO 99/65237). The broadcaster will add signals to its programmes describing the content and the PVR logs everything you watch, building up a profile of your preferences. So the PVR can then record any programme that matches your profile any time you go out. The benefit is that unlike today's PVRs, this one does not need to tell the TV station via a modem link what you like to watchpossibly exposing you to marketing spam.

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